nip Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a small drink of liquor
    shot.
    • he poured a shot of whiskey
  2. noun (offensive slang) offensive term for a person of Japanese descent
    Jap.
  3. noun the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth
    tang; flavour; savor; savour; sapidity; smack; flavor; relish.
  4. noun the property of being moderately cold
    coolness; chilliness.
    • the chilliness of early morning
  5. noun a tart spicy quality
    piquantness; tanginess; zest; piquance; tang; piquancy.
  6. noun a small sharp bite or snip
    pinch.
  7. verb squeeze tightly between the fingers
    twitch; pinch; tweet; twinge; squeeze.
    • He pinched her behind
    • She squeezed the bottle
  8. verb give a small sharp bite to
    • The Queen's corgis always nip at her staff's ankles
  9. verb sever or remove by pinching or snipping
    snip; nip off; snip off; clip.
    • nip off the flowers

WordNet

Nip noun
Etymology
LG. & D. nippen to sip; akin to Dan. nippe, G. nippen.
Definitions
  1. A sip or small draught; esp., a draught of intoxicating liquor; a dram.
Nip transitive verb
Etymology
OE. nipen; cf. D. niipen to pinch, also knippen to nip, clip, pinch, snap, knijpen to pinch, LG. knipen, G. kneipen, kneifen, to pinch, cut off, nip, Lith. knebti.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Nipped less properly Nipt; present participle & verbal noun Nipping
Definitions
  1. To catch and inclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.
    May this hard earth cleave to the Nadir hell, Down, down, and close again, and nip me flat, If I be such a traitress. Tennyson.
  2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
    The small shoots ... must be nipped off. Mortimer.
  3. Hence: To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
  4. To vex or pain, as by nipping; hence, to taunt.
    And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip. Spenser.
Nip noun
Definitions
  1. A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching; as, in the northern seas, the nip of masses of ice.
  2. A pinch with the nails or teeth.
  3. A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
  4. A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
  5. A biting sarcasm; a taunt. Latimer.
  6. (Naut.) A short turn in a rope.

Webster 1913